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What with wedding planning, a vacation to see Mom, and a huge project at work, I’ve fallen behind on my fashion blogging. I do heartily apologize. Taking advantage of a break in the action, I thought I’d take the opportunity to tell you about one of my favorite and easiest to wear trends: colored jeans.

When I do it, I go all out. Me, sporting my fierce, yellow skinny jeans. How can that color not make you happy?

I wrote a whole blog on how to wear brights, and colored jeans are one of the simplest ways to embrace that trend You don’t have to stick with just electric shades when it comes to jeans; there are a whole range of hues to spark your creativity. In just the red color family there is everything from salmon to brick to burgundy to fire engine red and all the shades in between. With colored denim shorts and capris debuting in an array of colors for spring and summer, this trend shows no signs of tapering off.

Don’t be scared. If you are a little nervous about all that color, start out with something still in the “blue” jeans category. There is every option out there from turquoise to powder blue to periwinkle to navy to cobalt. Because they are in the same color family as your typical blue jeans, they are less shocking than say, my favorite canary yellow pair (above). It’s easy to match any of the above blue shades with pretty much whatever you’d normally wear your regular blue jeans with, so it will be effortless to work them into your current wardrobe. My favorites are the Zelda Jeans from Express (see photo below). They fit like a dream, have just the right about of stretch, and are priced reasonably. Most of the time Express offers a buy one, get one half price on their denim, so if you want to start with the blue and get another bolder color, you can do so for a fairly reasonable amount.

A whole different kind of blue jean, Express, $79.90

Also, I know many of you aren’t skinny jeans fans. While I maintain that ANY body type CAN wear skinny jeans, I understand if they aren’t your thing. Never fear! Every style of jean is debuting in some sort of fabulous hue. Just find the color that speaks to you in the style that works on you and go for it. Victoria’s Secret is even showing flairs in the pretty pink shown below. And Walmart, yes WALMART, has this cute bootcut pair in yellow. At $18, you can’t beat the price.

Pretty Pink Flares, Victoria's Secret (online and catalog only), $49.50, many more great colors available as well

The key to the brighter shades of colored denim is keeping the rest of the outfit more subtle. You want the focus of the outfit on your pants. You can wear them just like you would wear the same color of shirt, just reverse whatever color you’d normally put on the bottom and put it on top. See my color block post for some other more daring color combinations. Just don’t OD on color. The goal is to look fresh and chic, not like someone dumped an entire Crayola paint set on you. This is one trend that knows no age. No matter what your birth certificate says, you can look age appropriate. Hunter green jeans, a crisp white shirt, and a navy blazer would look fabulous on everyone from a coed to a society matron.

In general, the darker the hue, the easier it is to wear. Brick red, the aforementioned hunter green, and navy are all more conservative and straightforward color options. Pairing any colored jean with a neutral is another great way to work in some bright colors without going overboard. Black, white, khaki, and gray are all nice options for setting off whatever shade you choose. The darker hues and anything in the blue color family are also going to be the easiest to continue to wear later if you are worried about the longevity of this trend.

So go out there and give it a try. Nothing brightens up a dreary day or welcomes the warmth of a sunny one like a happy pop of color, and there is no more elementary or comfortable way to do it than to slip on a favorite pair of jeans in a tint of your choosing.

If you want more tips on where to find the best pairs, options for your body type, or have any other fashion questions, feel free to email me at princessheathab@gmail.com. Comment below. I try to answer each and every one.

I’m so happy bright colors are back. It’s not that I don’t love basic black, but nothing perks up the spirits or an outfit like a hot hit of screaming color. Not since the 80s have colors been this eye-searing. However, this time around the combinations have gotten a bit more refined. Popular color choices for this trend include turquoise, hot pink, neon yellow, cobalt blue, Kelly green, neon green, and tangerine.

This much color can be a bit intimidating. But never fear, Heatha Be is here to give you four ways to style the new brights that will have you feeling like a movie-star style diva in no time.

Pair it with neutrals. One of the freshest and easiest ways to wear bright colors is to pair them with a neutral. Think khaki, dove gray, black, white or charcoal. Wearing it this way calls for shots of bright color instead of whole swaths of it. This is also the way to wear it if you aren’t sure about the trend and want to just try it out slowly first. See the outfit below for a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Brights on brights.Eye-popping and electric. Don’t wear this look if you’re trying to blend in. This is the one to stand out in. If you wear it this way, it’s simplest to pair a solid bright with a multi-colored bright that has the solid in it somewhere. The outfit from the Victoria’s Secret catalog shows exactly what I’m talking about. The shirt picks up the the blue from the shorts and then adds in some other fun colors, and then the hat band picks up another color in the shirt. Everything is in brilliant colors, but they all complement and play off each other.

Victoria’s Secret Midi Denim Short, $49.50

Tone on tone.Just mix different tints of the same color. So if you have bright coral jeans on, you’d match it with a soft pastel peach top and maybe a coral cardigan. See the outfit I styled below for one way to mix shades.

Shades of coral look positively radiant together. Other colors that work well for this type of look include cobalt, kelly green & red

Colorblocking! I did an entire post on colorblockinga while back. Same rules apply to mixing brights. Just mix complementary colors to your heart’s content and tie it together with some killer accessories. There are a ton of cute colorblocked dresses out there that will do all the work for you if you’re not feeling quite confident enough to put it together yourself. The one below is a great example.

Bebe Colorblocked dress, $119, Pleated, Twirly Fun!

Whatever way you wear it, you’re sure to get noticed. Everybody from Target to Kate Spade is getting in on this trend, so whether you have a small budget or a large one, you’ll be able to find something to fit your needs. Clearly the future’s so bright we’ll have to wear shades (sorry, I couldn’t resist).

If you know of more ways to wear brights, please share them with us. I’m always looking for new ways. If you’d like help styling a particular neon item you own, I’d love to help you with that too! Just comment below or email me at princessheathab@gmail.com. And please subscribe to my blog!